The second similar theme between the two books is coming of age. Coming of age is about growing up and finding out more about yourself and the world, and how its not always fair. In The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the book beings with Charlie staring high school, he is an outcast, a wallflower, he does not join in on conversations but choose to sit back and observe. He is grieving about many things, the friend he just lost due to suicide, his aunt who had a rough childhood and died in a car crash and Charlie thought it was his fault she died, and his sister who is in a bad relationship but he can’t help her. He doesn’t understand the world and is considered innocent because he does not know most things that everyone else knows such as relationships, …show more content…
He realizes that his sister’s boyfriend is hurting his sister, and he has his first kiss with a boy and a girl. He learns the truth about his Aunt, she had a though life and didn’t make good choices, which led to her molesting Charlie every Saturday when they were alone. Charlie had kept quiet about all the things in his life when he was younger but that just made the events worse, by opening up and experiencing new things Charlie learns about the world. The best quote that shows the theme of coming of age in the book is, “Charlie, we accept the love we think we deserve.” (Chbosky, 17) This quote was told to Charlie from his teacher, after Charlie tells him about his sister and her boyfriend. This quote explains in itself what its like as you grow up. You fall in love many times before you find the right one. With all these loves, you believe they are the one, even if you go through bad times with them and that’s why you didn’t leave a bad relationship. However, when you grow older and look back on all your lovers, you realize you only stayed with them because you thought you deserved that love, but when you reach a responsible mature age you realize that you didn’t need those people, you just thought you did and it was all up to you to leave the
Charlie also learns love in a way to get him better and set him for life. When his mother makes him dig the hole and fill it back up, this is harsh love and will prepare Charlie for later life as it will teach him respect and manners. Charlie deep down knows this is what his mother is trying to teach him, but at the time he just wanted to believe that she was trying to punish, annoy and make him work. Charlie also discovers the love of peers. When Charlie is dragged into the drama of Laura by Jasper he didn’t know if to trust him. But when the truth came out and Jasper wasn’t a part of it, Charlie loved him for telling the truth and being a good friend. Also when Jasper asks Charlie to leave Corrigan with him when they are older, Charlie loves Jasper for the respect and friendship he is giving him. Charlie also sees the act of false love. This is seen by Charlie when he witnesses his mother cheating on his father in the backseat of a car. Charlie knew his parents relationship wasn’t going too well, but he didn’t expect this. He uses this to overcome his mothers power over him. But this example shows us how Charlie has learnt the difference between real love and false love, this will only help him later in life.
“The Perks of Being A Wallflower” has been described as a “coming of age novel.” Charlie, who is a highschool freshman, documents his freshman experiences through writing letters to an unnamed friend. Throughout the book, Charlie is considered to be an socially awkward teen/”wallflower”, always watching from the sidelines before he befriends two charismatic seniors, Patrick and Sam. Even though Charlie is a wallflower who mostly sits and watches the lives around him, he tries hard to participate more and to be more in control of his world. Although “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” is frequently challenged/”banned” for its sexual content, depiction of homosexuality, and the glorification of alcohol use and experimentation with drugs, “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” is a widely admired and is still used in many school districts.
However, it is a far cry from his original, “wallflower” nature where he observed but never spoke up. It is also ironic as it shows his need to be emotionally stable, not wanting to find out the truth as his perceptions of his “nice” aunt would be ruined just as with Pi and his resistance to accept his “tiger” or inner anger. Charlie’s eventual maturity and coming-of-age occurs through his friends can be seen through the narration “The time we were walking… And I was in the middle… walking between them and feeling for the first time that I belonged somewhere.” The quote is emotionally symbolic highlighting his acceptance of society through his association with his friends.
(Chbosky 200). This quote tells Charlie that he can no longer live passively and call it a life. He had to say what he felt and do as he